The present invention relates to an end cap for terminating a transmission cable containing at least one transmission line, the end cap comprising at least one lead-through opening for guiding the at least one line from a rear side to a front side of the end cap.
Further, the present invention relates to a terminating arrangement for terminating a transmission cable containing at least one transmission line.
Moreover, the present invention relates to a kit for a terminating arrangement for terminating an optical fibre cable.
End caps, terminating arrangements and kits mentioned above are known from the prior art. The end caps constitute terminating members which facilitate the affixing of an end section of a cable, e.g. in an enclosure, and the guiding of at least one line so that it may be handled and e.g. provided with an optical fibre connector.
For example, the cable may be an optical fibre cable and the transmission line may be an optical fibre. Optical fibres may come as units comprising a fibre element with several individual fibres. The fibres may be bundled to bundles comprising several fibres. Such a bundle or several bundles may be accommodated within a cable. As the fibres themselves are rather long and thin and therefore prone to damage, e.g. by snapping and cracking, it is desired to provide a strain relief in order to eliminate any stresses which could act on the fibres themselves.
According to the prior art, strain relief is commonly achieved in that the layer of Kevlar surrounding each line, e.g. fibre or bundle of fibres, is affixed to the end cap or terminating member. Alternatively, cables with a central strength member in the form of a rod running centrally through the cable may be used. Then, instead of the layer of Kevlar, the strength member is fixed to a terminating member or enclosure. Additionally, the line has to be affixed within the enclosure, e.g. with the help of additional means such as adapters. In other words, two separate actions are necessary for terminating the cable according to the prior art. Hence, both when using the Kevlar layer surrounding the line or optical fibres and the central rod as strength members, terminating the cable so that strain relief is achieved is cumbersome and time-consuming.
In view of the disadvantages arising from the possibilities for terminating an optical fibre cable according to the prior art as mentioned above, it is an object of the present invention to facilitate and expedite the procedure of terminating an optical fibre cable while providing strain relief.
This object is achieved according to the invention for the initially mentioned end cap in that the end cap is provided with a passage extending from the rear side to the front side, the passage being adapted for accommodating a central strength member of the cable. In other words, the end cap may constitute a terminating member or a terminating member may be formed as an end cap, wherein the passage provides a channel which is offset at least in a radial direction of the end cap with respect to the lead-through opening.
For the initially mentioned terminating arrangement, the object is achieved in that at least one end cap according to the present invention is applied to the cable, wherein the at least one line extends through the lead-through opening and the strength member of the cable extends through the passage of the end cap.
For a kit mentioned in the beginning of the description, the object is achieved in that the kit comprises at least one end cap according to the present invention.
These solutions have the decisive advantage over the prior art that, on the one hand, the end cap may accommodate and protect an end section of the cable as well as the line and, on the other hand, may accommodate the strength member so that strain relief is provided. The end cap may be easily applied to the cable and the strength member by sliding the end cap over the cable while leading the line and the strength member through the through-opening and the passage, respectively. Then, the end cap may be fixed to an enclosure, thus serving as an adapter for mounting the strength member and the line to the enclosure in a single step.
Further, by the inventive solution to the object, any additional cable jackets and overmoulds for securing as well as protecting the end section of the cable may be omitted. Retention forces for securing the end cap and providing strain relief may be transferred from the section of the strength member protruding from the front side via the end cap to the outer circumference of the cable arranged at the rear side. Hence, the retention forces of the strength member are transferred to the outside of the cable at a position where normally a cable jacket is fixed. This enables the solution according to the present invention to be applied also to standard cable glands which are commonly used in field install kits.
The above-mentioned solutions according to the present invention may be combined in any way with any one of the following advantageous embodiments of the present invention respectively and thus further improved.